


A King and his Teacup

by dancey94



Series: Dancelyn's Tales [1]
Category: Hannibal (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fairy Tale, Fairy Tale Style, M/M, Marriage Proposal, teacup breaking, teacup violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-08
Updated: 2018-03-08
Packaged: 2019-03-28 16:56:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 961
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13908297
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dancey94/pseuds/dancey94
Summary: Once upon a time, there was a king who would only drink from his favourite cup. One day, the king dropped his favourite cup on the marble floor and broke it into pieces. Subjects of different professions offered their help but none was able to fix the teacup. A year after the tragedy, a man arrived in the kingdom and asked to be seen by the king.“Here is your favourite teacup, your Majesty.”





	A King and his Teacup

Once upon a time, there was a king who would only drink from his favourite cup. The cup was white with a dark rim and just a touch of gold. It didn’t look like a royal cup but rather like an ordinary teacup.

One day, the king dropped his favourite cup which fell down on the marble floor and broke into many pieces of various size. The king was horrified, the servants gathered all the pieces immediately and assembled them on a table in the kitchen. The king followed them as he wouldn’t be separated from his favourite cup.

The handyman who lived at court began working on fixing the cup. He used all the materials he had and worked day and night but could not bring the teacup back to its original state. The king stayed by the handyman’s side until the man announced there was nothing more that could have been done.

The king could not bear such terrible news. He declared a week of mortification and invited people from everywhere to the castle if they believed they knew a solution that would fix the teacup.

On the first day, the line of people waiting to talk to the king was long and ended way outside the walls of the castle.

Blacksmiths and bakers, carpenters and tailors, goldsmiths and butchers – they all came in response to the king’s invitations and offered their help. If not by telling how to fix the old teacup, then by presenting the king with replacements, all of which the king found unsuitable.

On the second day, the line was shorter but still included skilled workmen from the area. Yet, none came up with a working solution that would fix the teacup.

On the third day, the people in the line were mostly from the bordering kingdoms, as the terrible news had spread. Still, none of the visitors gifted the king with the solution.

For over a week people came and spoke to the king with no positive result. Finally, after a month, the king gave up. He started using different teacups each day, not getting attached to any in particular in case it broke, too.

Days passed and on the first anniversary of the day when the king’s favourite teacup broke, a young man appeared at court. He was wearing ordinary clothes, of slightly worse condition than those of the people in the kingdom. Without shame, the man asked to be allowed to see the king.

“Here is your favourite teacup, your Majesty,” the man said as he knelt before the king, holding out his hand with a white cup that had a dark rim and just a touch of gold.

Everyone in the room gasped. The king’s eyes widened and his arm reached for the cup. As he touched the rim, he closed his eyes in silent consideration. He opened his eyes and looked at the man kneeling on front of him.

“Time did reverse. The teacup that I shattered did come together.” Then, with fondness in his eyes, the king turned to the man, “What is your name?”

“I am called Will.”

“Will, you brought my favourite teacup back to me. For that, I will reward you with a knighthood and a place by my side.”

The next day the king knighted Will in front of the people at court. There was a ball in the evening but the celebration carried on for the whole week. Finally, the king was happy again and so was the whole kingdom.

Another year passed.

One day, when the king was speaking to Will holding the teacup, he leant closer to whisper something and in that moment he dropped the teacup.

The clink was followed by gasps of surprise and then the room stilled in silence. A cry of pain and sorrow along with the noise of panic gradually filled the room when the servants realised what had happened. The king had broken the teacup. Again.

But it were only the servants who reacted so strongly about the tragedy, while the king continue to lean closer to Will and whispered whatever it was he had wanted to say.

Everyone gaped at the king and his indifference to the tragedy.

Even Will seemed unmoved by the fact that king had just dropped and broken his gift.

“The teacup was but a material substitute for a thing far more valuable,” the king exclaimed and turned to look at Will, who returned his gaze full of fondness.

“In that case, your Majesty, I need to come clean,” sir William said and stood in front of the king. “I am William, the Prince of Graham. I was mistreated in my kingdom and arrived at yours. I am but a humble servant of yours, your Majesty.”

The king nodded at the prince and held out a hand wearing a gold ring jewelled with a ruby. Prince William kissed the ring which the king then took off and offered the man.

“If you take this ring, we will be engaged to be married. If you accept me, you accept my kingdom and the people in it, and make a promise to rule justly with me.” The king stood up from his throne so that his eyes levelled with Prince William’s eyes. “I have let you close to me. You gave me a rare gift and I gladly accepted it. Will you accept mine?”

The king held the ring in his open palm, waiting for the prince to take it. So the prince did take it, and placed it on his finger. With that, the king and the prince became engaged to each other.

They were married the next year, on the third anniversary of the day when the king’s favourite teacup broke.

**Author's Note:**

> that may turn into a series of tales xD


End file.
